Impaled
by JPsmiles
Summary: Face tries to break up a fight between Hannibal and B.A. and is injured in the process.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Impaled

They sat in the van driving in silence. Not a word had been spoken for over three hours now and Face didn't know how much more of this he could take. He wished that Murdock were still with them…at least he would have somebody to talk to. But Murdock had been away from the V.A. for longer than usual and Hannibal thought it best to get him back. It had been a rough couple of weeks for the team. Two grueling missions and Decker on their trail the entire time had left them physically and mentally exhausted.

On the plane ride back from the last case, B.A had unfortunately woken up early to find that they were no longer in beautiful Hawaii. Instead he was 30,000 feet above the ocean in a tiny plane being piloted by Murdock.

"The big guy must be developing a higher tolerance to the drugs," Face said to Hannibal as they noticed him starting to stir. They scrambled to the back of the plane to get as far away from B.A. as possible.

"Well, at least if he kills us, we died leaving paradise," Hannibal half-joked.

"I'm on a plane!" B.A. shouted. "Hannibal, I'm on a plane!"

"Now, calm down B.A. Decker was hot on our trail…we had no choice." Hannibal explained slowly approaching the angry man.

"I'm on a plane. I'm on a plane!" B.A. continued to shout, seemingly getting more agitated by the moment. He stood up looking around the plane as if he were looking for the nearest exit.

"I think we've established that already. Stand down Sergeant…that's an order!" Hannibal commanded.

Face was used to B.A.'s usual temper tantrum in the sky. In fact, he couldn't blame the poor guy for being upset. He was legitimately afraid to fly, yet was forced to do so against his will on a regular basis. What Face wasn't used to, on the other hand, was the way Hannibal was handling the situation. Normally he would try to talk to B.A. calmly…talk him down one might say. This time, however, Hannibal was becoming angry himself which only seemed to be escalating things.

"Don't be giving me no orders, man…this ain't the army anymore!" B.A. retorted. His fury turned to fear as the fact that he was on a plane finally hit home.

Face sensing this shift of emotion, walked past the irritated Hannibal and over to B.A. Placing a hand on B.A.'s back he guided him over to a seat and said softly, "Why don't you sit down B.A. We're almost home…no need to be afraid."

"I ain't afraid of nothin' Faceman…I just don't like flyin' is all. And I don't like Hannibal tellin' me what to do," he said shooting a dirty look the older man's way.

Hannibal give him a cold stare back and then turned toward the cockpit to sit with Murdock.

"Want me to give you something to relax?" Face asked B.A. knowing full well what his answer would be.

"You know I don't take no drugs man…except when you all don't give me no choice." B.A. grunted as beads of sweat started to form on his brow. He was gripping the armrests so tightly that Face was sure he would leave a permanent indent.

"Just hang in there big guy…Murdock will have this bird down in a jiffy." Face inwardly cursed himself for mentioning that Murdock was flying. Luckily, B.A. didn't seem to notice as he sat paralyzed in his seat until the plane touched down and came to a complete stop.

Hannibal and B.A. were still angry all these hours later. In order to avoid any more military run-ins, they decided they better skip town for a while. So after dropping Murdock off, they kept right on driving. The tension in the van was so thick that Face could swear he was going to suffocate on it. Plus, it had been quite some time since they had stopped for any food and he was getting hungry. Face didn't want to say anything because the only thing worse than sitting in the silent van would be sitting in silence at a restaurant staring at each other. At least in the van he could look out the window.

Unfortunately, his stomach didn't seem to care about the view and it started giving him away. After about the fifth growl Hannibal finally turned around and said, "You hungry, Lieutenant?"

"Um, yeah…a little bit," Face admitted. "But I can wait if you guys want to keep driving."

"I say we stop," B.A. growled without turning around. "But let's get it to go…I ain't in the mood for any jibber-jabber."

"Fine with me," said Hannibal and that was the end of the conversation.

After picking up some burgers at a diner they passed along the way they travelled on. Though Face was hungry, he wasn't a big fan of eating on the road. It never seemed to agree with him, but with the way this trip was going he didn't want to rock the boat. So he stayed quiet and ate his burger hoping that this time his stomach would be on his side.

When he first started to feel nauseous, he started taking deep breaths willing himself not to get sick. But after a few minutes all the deep breathing started to make him lightheaded in addition to nauseous. Finally Face knew it was time to either ask B.A. to pull over or puke all over B.A.'s van. If he opted for the later he would not only be a sick man, he would be a dead man.

"B.A., can you pull over?" Face moaned. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Without a word, B.A. pulled the van off the road into a clearing that would allow Face some privacy. Practically before the van stopped, Face leapt out and headed for the bushes where he promptly lost his lunch…literally. In between heaves, he could hear Hannibal and B.A. start going at each other.

"I guess their vow of silence is over," he muttered as he pulled himself to his feet and made his way back over to the van.

"I'm getting real sick and tired of your attitude B.A.," Hannibal said, poking a finger at B.A.'s gold encrusted chest.

"Don't you touch me man. And I'm tired of you bossin' me around Hannibal," B.A. retorted, poking his finger back at Hannibal.

"Somebody has to be in charge of this team, and that somebody is me. You will obey my orders, Sergeant!" Hannibal took a step closer to B.A.

"B.A. Baracus don't obey nobody!" B.A. snarled back.

The two men were standing so close that their chests were almost touching. Face knew it wouldn't be long until things became physical. He knew he had to step in and try to break things up before it was too late. When he saw the two starting to raise their fists signaling that the fight was on, he started to make his move.

"C'mon guys…can't we at least talk about this first. You're really going to regret this later," said Face. When he could see that he wasn't getting anywhere, he jumped in between the two raging men. Holding his hands out, he made one last plea. "Stop it you two…you wouldn't want to mess up this face, now would you?" he said trying to lighten the mood. But then B.A. gave him a look and pushed him off to the side…hard.

Face felt the pain shoot through his leg as he landed, but was too stunned to realize what had happened. Plus, he was engrossed in watching his friends as they had moved closer together again and were now circling each other. It was almost as if they were doing a dance…each man daring the other to throw the first punch.

When Face finally did look down to survey his damage he couldn't help but gasp…he thought he might be sick again. He landed on some sort of metal stake which unfortunately was now poking through his right thigh. He called out to the two men in a weak voice, but they were too preoccupied to hear him. Knowing that he needed to get some help, he mustered up all his energy and yelled, "Help!"

Hannibal and B.A. turned to look at their friend lying on the ground. At first they just stood there looking at him not noticing what was wrong.

"Um…I think I have a little problem," Face panted pointing toward his leg. Realizing for the first time that Face was injured, the two men came running over to his side.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

"How did this happen?" Hannibal asked, kneeling down to get a closer look.

"Well, I just thought this would be a good way to stop you two from fighting," Face tried to joke, but now the pain had really started to set in. He pushed himself onto his elbows and added, "When B.A. pushed me, I picked the wrong spot to land."

"When I pushed you?" B.A. asked, confusion reading all over his face. Confusion soon turned to guilt as he realized that he was the cause of his friend's current condition. "I guess we were so busy fighting, we didn't even notice."

"The question is, what are we going to do? We can't pull the stake out here…you'll bleed to death before we can get you some help." Hannibal thought out loud.

"Gee Hannibal, thanks for sugar coating things," Face whined through gritted teeth.

"Sorry kid," he said sympathetically. "B.A., do you have anything in the van that can cut through this metal?"

"I think so…what we gonna do Hannibal?" B.A. asked.

"If we can cut the stake free from the ground under Face's leg then we can leave it in until we get help," Hannibal replied. "We're not too far from Bad Rock…Maggie's our safest bet."

"Poor Maggie's gonna love this one," Face said wiping some sweat off his brow.

"Don't move Faceman…I'll be right back," B.A. said getting up.

"Don't move, he says," Face couldn't help but smile over at Hannibal, "I'm nailed to the ground and he says don't move."

"Hang in there Face. We'll have you free in no time," Hannibal encouraged. Once B.A. returned with a saw, Hannibal held Face's leg still while B.A. slid the saw under and got to work. With each pass of the saw, the pain was so great that Face thought he might pass out a couple of times. He was almost hoping he would.

Sensing Face's discomfort, B.A. tried to work faster and within a couple of minutes he felt the saw break through the other side of the stake. B.A lifted Face into his arms as Hannibal continued to hold his leg as still as possible.

They sat Face in the back of the van, propping his leg up on what was usually Murdock's seat. Face put his head back and closed his eyes trying to shut out the pain. Not to mention that it wasn't exactly pleasant seeing his leg looking like a shish-kabob. Face felt himself starting to shake…a sure sign that his body was going into shock.

Hannibal could see that his second in command was beginning to tremble and before closing the van door he grabbed a blanket from under the seat and covered him up. Walking over to B.A. who was standing beside the driver's side door he said, "We have to get him to Maggie as soon as possible…there is no telling what kind of damage that stake has done. Try to keep the ride as smooth as possible, though, we want to keep his leg still."

"You got it Colonel…I should have us there in a little over an hour." B.A. said while climbing inside the van. And again they rode off in silence. This time there was no anger behind the quiet, just guilt and worry about Face.

Hannibal glanced over at B.A. out of the corner of his eye. He was trying to figure out why he had gotten so angry at B.A. earlier. He was just being himself...he didn't get the name Bad Attitude Baracus for being all sunshine and roses. But that was what made B.A. who he is...and what made him such a valuable member of the team. Hannibal didn't like to lose his cool...especially with one of his men. But on that plane ride back from Hawaii, he just snapped. Maybe it was a sign that he needed a little break...after all, he wasn't getting any younger. Hannibal sighed and pulled a cigar out of his pocket.

B.A. heard Hannibal sigh. He felt bad about fighting with the colonel. He was not used to the older man getting so heated with him. Hannibal was always the one to help calm him down. He wasn't prepared to deal with Hannibal's reaction on the plane...especially because he was on a plane. And once he got upset, he had trouble controlling that temper of his. He could hear Mama's voice in his head now, "Scooter, that temper of yours is gonna git you in trouble." Mama was right, although it has also gotten him and his friends out of trouble in the past decade as well. Unfortunately, this time Face had gotten hurt and it was his fault. B.A. muttered under his breath and pushed down on the pedal to pick up the pace a bit.

Face opened his eyes when he heard B.A. grumble. He hoped he wasn't feeling too bad over what happened...he knew that B.A. would never hurt him on purpose. It wasn't that long ago that Face was in a similar position when B.A. was shot...and he knew how awful he felt. Face was about to open his mouth to tell the big guy not to feel bad when all of a sudden the van came to an abrupt halt. Face cried out in pain as his body jerked forward and his leg fell off of Murdock's seat.

"Faceman...you okay?" B.A. asked whipping his head around. "Darn deer ran out right in front of us." Face nodded his head yes, but the look on his face definitely said differently.

"Try to stay still," said Hannibal as he turned his seat around. He gently eased Face back against the seat and propped his leg back up. He could feel the warmth radiating from the Lieutenant's skin. "We're almost there. Hang in there just a little longer, kid." Again, Face just nodded. He closed his eyes because he didn't want the guys to see the tears he felt forming.

Maggie was waiting outside on her porch when the van pulled up. Hannibal had called her earlier to tell her what had happened and that they were on their way. As she walked over to Hannibal she could see the worry written all over his face.

"Bring him right into my examination room," she said to B.A. as he carefully picked up a pale looking Face. "How are you feeling?" she asked as they slowly made their way to her house.

He attempted a smile and said, "I've felt better."

Hannibal couldn't help but frown...Face really must be hurting for him not to be putting up his usual front.

Maggie smiled back and reassured, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you and have you feeling better in no time."

Face lay on the table clenching his teeth as Maggie poked at prodded at his leg. Despite the pain, he couldn't help but find it amusing how she managed to look both fascinated and terrified at the same time.

"Well", she said while reaching for a roll of gauze, "what do you say we get this thing out of your leg?" Face just nodded his head. "Unfortunately, I don't want to put you under Face. You are running quite a high temperature indicating infection running through your system. And being that we aren't at a hospital, I want to give you as little as possible." She quickly added, "I'll locally anesthetize your leg. It may not take care of all the pain, but it should make it manageable."

"Couldn't we just have B.A. hit me and knock me out instead," Face joked in a weak voice, to which B.A. replied sadly, "I think I've already done enough damage for one day." Face instantly regretted his statement. His intent wasn't to hurt the big guy.

"Okay gentlemen," Maggie said looking at Hannibal and B.A., "I'm gonna need your help. Hannibal, stay up near Face's head and hold his torso still. B.A., I'm going to ask you to hold his leg."

Once the men were in position Maggie got to work injecting Face's now swollen leg with the anesthetic. "Okay Face, just take some deep breaths for me. I'll try to be as gentle as possible."

Face flinched as the first needle went in and Hannibal gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He locked eyes with the colonel for a second and gave him a slight nod indicating that he was okay.

"Okay, that's it...last shot." Maggie said pulling the needle from Face's leg. "Let's give the medicine a few minutes to take effect and then we'll get started. I'm going to have to work as quickly as possible to minimize the amount of blood loss. Are you two okay to stay and help me?" she asked looking at Hannibal and B.A. "You aren't going to pass out on me, are you?"

"No ma'am," Hannibal replied, "after what we've seen before in Nam, I think B.A. and I can stay on our feet." B.A. nodded his head in agreement.

"I, on the other hand, am not making any promises," Face said slurring his words slightly. "I'm hoping to pass out as soon as possible." It wasn't long before Face got his wish. As soon as Maggie started pulling out the stake, the pain was too much and he passed out cold.

"Thank goodness," Maggie sighed. "I really didn't want him to be awake for this." Once the metal object was removed and Maggie felt as if she had the bleeding under control she ushered Hannibal and B.A. out of the room. "You two can wait outside now. It'll just take me some time to finish stitching him up. Go get yourself some coffee…you look like you need it."

Hannibal and B.A. made their way out to the waiting room. Both men sat down on the couch in silence staring straight ahead. It had been a long day and neither man knew exactly what to say to the other.

B.A. could hear the grandfather clock ticking. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. The sound began to get on his already frayed nerves. Finally he turned to Hannibal and said, "Listen Hannibal, I'm sorry 'bout before. I was out of line…didn't mean what I said. I was just blowing off some steam."

Hannibal leaned back and ran his fingers through his silver hair. "I'm sorry too, B.A. I don't know what got into me. What do you say we forget the whole thing and move on?"

B.A. held his hand out to Hannibal and Hannibal gladly shook it. "But man, you know we gonna owe Face big time after this?" he said with a smile.

Hannibal chuckled in response. "Don't I know it!"

And that's when they heard an all too familiar sound of late: sirens.

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

"Not now," Hannibal groaned.

"What we gonna do now Hannibal?" B.A. asked. "We can't leave Face here…'specially since it's our fault he's here to begin with."

"Agreed…I better call Murdock and fast. I think we may be needing his assistance later on." Hannibal hung up the phone the same moment Decker came busting through the door with a couple of uniformed men in tow.

"I got you this time Smith," he sneered. "I got you, Baracus and Peck." Decker hesitated for a moment looking around. "Peck, where's Peck?"

"Well you see Decker," Hannibal said matter of factly, "My Lieutenant had an unfortunate accident earlier and is being sewn up there in the other room." As if on cue, Maggie came through the door. Her once white lab coat was now red and white and she looked frazzled.

"How's Face?" Hannibal asked eagerly. That was his first priority. Decker could…and would…be dealt with later.

"Well, not so good.," Maggie said making note of the new visitors, but not paying them any attention. "Even though I was able to control the bleeding, he lost quite a lot of it in the process, so he's quite weak. I've given him some antibiotics to fight the infection, but he is still running a high fever." Maggie paused and ran her fingers through her hair. "Not to mention that I can't be sure of the extent of injury to his leg. The stake didn't hit any bone, which is good, but there is bound to be some muscle damage."

"Thank you for all your work Doctor, but we will take care of Peck from here." Decker got up and started walking toward the examination room. "He is now under the custody of the U.S. Army," he said.

"Don't even think about it Colonel," Maggie said jumping in front of the uniformed man. "That is a sterile room, and I'm not about to let you contaminate it." Maggie lied, knowing that she had to keep Colonel Decker out of that room and away from Face. He might be their only hope of getting out of there. Unfortunately, he was also in no condition to be fighting any battles at the moment. "Lieutenant Peck has not yet regained consciousness, and I will not allow you to move him until he is awake and I get to examine him."

"Okay Doctor," Decker replied backing up slightly. "I'll give you one hour and not a second more. If Peck still hasn't woken up, we will take him and have him transferred to a military hospital. Until then, we stay here and wait." Pointing to one of the men under his command, he ordered, "Jones, cuff these two and stand guard over them."

"I better check on my patient," Maggie said. Looking at Decker while departing she said, "Have no fear Colonel Decker, Lieutenant Peck is in no shape to escape." Maggie hoped this would be enough to keep the military man away from her patient so she and Face could figure out what to do.

Face's eyes were closed as she entered the room, but he said softly, "I heard Decker out there...do you have any weapons I can use?" Maggie walked over to Face and placed her hand on his forehead. "You're still burning up Face...are you sure a gun fight is the smartest thing at the moment?"

Face opened his eyes and gave her a weak smile, "Since when have we been known to do the smart thing?" he joked.

"You certainly have a point there," Maggie said smiling back...when Face smiled at you, it was impossible not to. "I have a couple of rifles locked up in my cabinet over there. Since your last visit, I learned that I better be prepared for anything." 

"If you can get me into that wheelchair over there, I think I have a plan."

Getting into the chair, however, would prove to be more difficult than expected. As soon as Maggie helped Face sit up, he saw spots dancing in front of his eyes and the room felt as if it were spinning. His leg throbbed in rhythm with his pulse as he slowly slid his legs over the side of the table. Face groaned as he struggled to make his eyes focus.

Maggie saw Face's coloring go from pale to almost transparent and began to question the sanity of this idea. "Face, are you okay? Maybe we should wait a few more minutes?"

"The element of surprise is all we have on our side...we can't wait," he gasped. Sweat was freely flowing down the side of his face. He leaned on Maggie and half-fell into the wheel chair. It took all of his effort not to scream out. He tried to focus on his breathing...to get the pain under control. He held his hand out to Maggie and she handed him the loaded weapon. Maggie covered his lap with a blanket concealing the weapon.

"You ready Maggie?" he asked. Not waiting for a reply he said, "Just wheel me out there and stay behind me...I'll do the rest." The look in Face's eyes gave her the strength to move ahead. All the pain and sickness seemed gone...leaving behind sheer determination.

Face let his head fall to the side a bit closed his eyes almost all the way. Ever the con-man, he put on his most pathetic look...though it wasn't much of an act this time; he probably felt about as bad as he looked. Maggie opened the door and began pushing Face out. All eyes looked at them. Hannibal and B.A. exchanged worried glances with each other. They knew Face was bad off, but he looked terrible. He was pale, sweating and barely conscious. Why would Maggie bring him out so soon?

"Here you are Colonel Decker," Maggie said calmly. "He is stable. I gave him something to help him rest, so he will be pretty out of it for a while." She was amazed at how easy the lies were coming to her.

"Ah, Lieutenant Peck. A shame we couldn't be meeting under better circumstances," Decker said walking toward Face.

Out of the slits of his eyes Face could see that Decker's two companions were standing close behind him. Nobody had their weapons drawn...their guard was down. He had them just where he wanted them. Mustering every ounce of strength he had left he jerked the rifle out from under the blanket in one swift motion. "I think the circumstances are looking just about right...don't move a muscle," Face commanded. "Maggie, grab the keys and unlock Hannibal and B.A."

"Way to go kid," Hannibal encouraged with a smile. "I'm impressed...you really had me going."

"Yeah...me too Face," B.A. chuckled. "I'm glad you ain't as bad off as you looked."

Hannibal and B.A. frisked all three uniformed men, took their weapons and got to work tying them up.

Maggie went over to Face who was still holding the rifle, but had now begun to shake. She carefully took the rifle out of his arms and put it down on the coffee table. "How are you doing Face?" she asked reaching for his wrist to check his heart rate. Before she got a chance to start counting, he pitched forward in the chair. "Whoa!" Maggie exclaimed as she grabbed under his arms and struggled to keep him upright.

B.A. came running over and took over for Maggie. "Guess you are as bad off as you looked, huh?" he said softly to Face as he picked up his friend in his arms.  
>"Let's get him lying back down," Maggie suggested pointing to the examination room.<p>

"How is he Maggie?" Hannibal asked bursting into the exam room a few minutes later after ensuring that Decker and company weren't going anywhere.

"I think he'll be okay. His fever is still up there, but his leg doesn't look any worse for wear after his little excursion. He just needs lots of rest now and time to heal up."

Hannibal nodded in agreement, pulling out a cigar out of his pocket out of habit. Maggie gave him a look and he held up a hand in mock defense, "don't worry, I'm not going to light it. It just helps me think."

"Speaking of thinking," B.A. said walking away from Face's bedside where he was sitting watching his friend sleep. "What's the plan...it's only as matter of time before somebody comes looking for Decker and his men."

"Which is precisely why I called Murdock earlier," Hannibal smiled.

"Murdock!" B.A. exclaimed. "What's that crazy fool gonna do?"

"He's going to borrow a V.A. ambulance so we can get Face home comfortably," Hannibal started making quotation marks with his hands as he said 'borrow'. "Plus, I figure there will be some medical supplies on board that might come in handy."

B.A. didn't look too convinced. "But, how he gonna break out and get the rig? Face always handles that part."

"Once I told him our situation and that Face was hurt he said it wouldn't be a problem. You know how close those two are...Murdock would jump out of the window if he had to."

Maggie smiled at the last statement and said, "Let's hope not...one injured man is enough for today."

Face opened his eyes slowly. For a moment he forgot where he was and what had happened. He tried to sit up but fell back against the pillows with a groan. "Ouch...I hafta stop doing that to myself," he said out loud to himself not realizing anybody was in the room. A few seconds later he reopened his eyes to see Hannibal, B.A. and Maggie smiling down at him. "Hey," he said weakly.

Maggie thought the three friends could use alone time so she excused herself and left the room.

Hannibal sat down on the chair next to Face. "As soon as Murdock get's here, we are going to hit the road. How's the pain Face? Do you need Maggie to give you anything?"

"I'll be okay," Face said again trying to sit up, but deciding against it as he felt the pain in his leg. "Well, Maybe Maggie could give us some pain killers...just in case."

Hannibal nodded his head, grateful that Face was willing to take some relief.

"So, are you two okay?" Face questioned looking from Hannibal to B.A.

"We cool man," B.A. said smiling down at his friend.

"Yeah, we made up," Hannibal agreed, "we're just fine."

"Good, at least I didn't impale myself in vain," Face smiled sleepily and closed his eyes once more. "Oh…and Hannibal?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"Don't you love it when a plan comes together?"

Hannibal took hold of Face's limp hand. "I do…but not this way, kid."

(TBC…one more part to go!)


	4. Chapter 4

Hannibal and B.A. rode in the front of the ambulance and couldn't remember the last time they had seen Murdock so annoyed.

_"You mean to tell me that you did this to Face?" he had asked incredulously upon his arrival._

_"Um...yeah...but it wasn't on purpose, man," B.A. replied softly, avoiding the accusing stare._

_"And you call me a fool."_

And now Face was lying in the back of the ambulance gritting his teeth against the unabating pain in his thigh. The pilot was sitting by his side and was unusually quiet.

"You okay, Murdock?"

"I should be asking _you_ that, muchacho."

"I'm fine." Face grinned mischievously. "I'm fine for a guy with a hole in his leg big enough to play miniature golf through." Murdock didn't return his smile. "That was a joke, Murdock…tough audience."

"I don't think any of this is very funny." Murdock threw his hands up in the air. "I mean, look at you...you're a mess!"

"Gee, thanks, buddy," Face quipped. But if he looked nearly as bad as he felt he knew Murdock had a valid point.

Murdock could see Face shaking slightly even under the blanket and his skin was damp with sweat. He placed a hand on his forehead and could feel the warmth. "You're hot."

"Make up your mind…first I'm a mess and now I'm hot." Face subconsciously leaned into the coolness of Murdock's touch. "Murdock, I'll be okay. It was an accident, you know."

Murdock nodded. "I know. But still if they hadn't been fighting..."

"They were just blowing off some steam."

"I can't believe you are being so cool about all of this...you're hurting, Facey."

'You don't have any idea how badly,' Face thought, but instead said, "And so are Hannibal and B.A. They feel bad enough without me...or you...adding to it. Besides, look at the bright side."

"You're starting to sound crazier than me! There is one?"

Face nodded. "The way I figure things, Hannibal and B.A. owe me _big_ time…both for my leg and because I saved their hides from Decker. Trust me, I plan on collecting."

Murdock laughed. "Now you sound like the Faceman I know."

Face let out a gasp as the ambulance hit a bump and a pain shot up his leg. "M…Mur…dock. Think…think I'll take…some…some pills…now."

Murdock stayed with his friend until the medication kicked in and he drifted into a blissful sleep. Maneuvering his way up to the front compartment, he popped his head through the partition.

"How's Face?" Hannibal asked.

"Sleeping. He's still running a fever but he finally agreed to some pain killers."

Hannibal and B.A. shared a guilty look.

"But I think he'll be feeling better real soon." Murdock paused and mumbled under his breath, 'especially when he's gets done with the two of you."

"You still mad at us, man?" B.A. asked keeping his eyes trained on the road.

"Nah…How could I stay long at a cute mudsucker like you?"

"I'm gonna let that slide just this once."

"How about me, Murdock?"

Murdock batted his eyes. "You're cute too, colonel."

"It's gonna be one long ride," B.A. groused.

The long ride was only the beginning of even longer days to come. By the time they got back to Face's "borrowed" beach front condo he was delirious with pain and fever. Hannibal was tempted to turn right back around to Bad Rock but knew it would be too risky. And with Decker aware of Face's injury, any hospital or clinic was out of the question as well.

"Damn, infection has set in," Hannibal announced as he examined Face's swollen thigh once they were settled. The area around the wound was red and hot to the touch. "We're going to have to open it up and drain it."

Face winced as they carefully lifted and slid a clean towel under the injured limb; he was weak but all too aware of what was to come.

"I'm sorry, kid, but I don't have anything for the pain," Hannibal apologized before the fact.

"S'okay...just do it," Face said with a wan smile.

As B.A. and Hannibal got to work setting out the necessary supplies, Murdock leaned over Face and said, "Just think, Face, you can add this to their tab,"

Face winked. "Don't...I know it," he rasped.

Face moaned as Hannibal wiped down his leg with an antiseptic. Seeing Hannibal pick up the knife, he closed his eyes and steeled himself for the cut.

Hannibal took a deep breath and said a silent prayer as he placed blade to skin. Holding Face's leg still with his other arm, he started to cut.

Face held onto Murdock and B.A. who flanked him on each side and whimpered as he felt the searing pain. His head tossed from side to side as Hannibal squeezed around the incision to release the accumulated pus and fluid.

"You doin' good, man," B.A. encouraged.

"Just breathe...it'll be over real soon," Murdock promised.

But before Face even had a chance to catch his breath, Hannibal was probing the cavity with a pair of tweezers looking for any pockets of infection he may have missed. Tears streamed down Face's cheeks as he panted and tried to focus on his friends' voices. They sounded farther and farther away as Hannibal probed deeper and the agony increased until all he couldn't see or hear anything...he could only feel pain. Finally as Hannibal cleaned out the wound one last time his eyes rolled back and he was out.

Face didn't regain consciousness for the next 48 hours, but still he remained in constant motion as his fever kept a tight grip on him not allowing his body to relax. The team kept a constant vigil by his side, watching him writhe and moan and not being able to do anything about it but be there for him.

On the morning of the third day Face let out a gut wrenching scream and began to tremble uncontrollably. Moments later, covered in a drenching sweat, he became completely still. Fear gripped Hannibal's heart as he grabbed Face's wrist to feel for a pulse which he was relieved to find was rapid but strong.

Murdock put a hand to Face's forehead and broke out into a wide grin. "His fever broke."

Caught up in the emotion of the moment, B.A. pumped his fist and then reached over and pulled both Murdock and Hannibal into a rare hug. They stayed that way for a long time just watching their friend and teammate sleep.

Epilogue:

"B.A., you missed a spot," Face called out from the recliner.

"What you talkin' about, Faceman...I didn't miss no spot," B.A. growled.

Murdock walked over to the Corvette and pointed to the hood. "Right here, big guy...it's not as shiny as the rest." Moving his arms in a circular pattern he said, " try this: wax on, wax off."

"I'll wax you right off the face of the Earth if you don't get outta my way, fool!"

Face smiled gleefully and then turned toward the patio door. "How're you coming with my lunch, colonel?"

"I'll have it for you in a minute, Face."

"Remember, not too much mustard."

Hannibal rolled his eyes. "Yes, sir."

"And extra pickles."

"Got it."

Murdock, having escaped from B.A., sat back down and shook his head when Face offered him a cigar. "No thanks…I still can't believe the colonel let you have his favorites."

Face took a puff and slowly exhaled. "Ah…payback's a beautiful thing!"

Murdock swatted the smoke away from him. "Yes…and smelly too."

Hannibal walked over to the pair carrying a tray. "Here you go. Eat up."

"Mmm, mmm, mmm!" Face grinned. "I love it when a sandwich comes together!"

"Cute, kid…real cute," Hannibal groaned and then turned back toward the house.

"It's been a week now since you've been ordering them around…how long do you think they're gonna let you milk this?"

"It will be another couple of weeks before I can put any weight on this leg, so at least that long." Taking a look at the food before him, Face noticed something missing. "Hey, Hannibal," he yelled, "you forgot the pickles!"

'He wants a pickle…I'll give him a pickle,' Hannibal thought throwing the green dill straight at the con-man knocking the cigar right out of his mouth.

Face looked at Murdock and shrugged. "Then again…maybe I'll let them off the hook after lunch."

The End


End file.
